DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Investigators are working to identify and charge protesters who toppled a nearly century-old Confederate statue in front of a North Carolina government building, the sheriff said Tuesday.

Durham County Sheriff Mike Andrews issued a statement that investigators are using video footage to identify those responsible for toppling the statue during a rally Monday night.

Law enforcement officers took video throughout the protest but didn't intervene as protesters brought out a ladder, climbed up to attach a rope and then pulled the bronze Confederate soldier from its pedestal. After it fell, some began kicking the statue, while others took photos standing or sitting on it. The protest was in response to violence and a death at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.

Andrews said his staff met with community leaders before the Durham demonstration, and he was aware of the potential for vandalism -- but also the risk of injuries if deputies moved in.

"Collectively, we decided that restraint and public safety would be our priority," he said, noting that his office was recently challenged in court over arrests of demonstrators at public meetings. "As the Sheriff, I am not blind to the offensive conduct of some demonstrators nor will I ignore their criminal conduct."

A protester kicks the toppled statue of a Confederate soldier after it was pulled down in Durham, N.C. Monday, Aug. 14, 2017. Activists on Monday evening used a rope to pull down the monument outside a Durham courthouse. The Durham protest was in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.

(Casey Toth/The News & Observer via AP)

A toppled Confederate statue lies on the ground on Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, in Durham, N.C. Activists on Monday evening used a rope to pull down the monument outside a Durham courthouse. The Durham protest was in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Va, over the weekend.

(Casey Toth/The Herald-Sun via AP)

Claire Meddock, 21, stands on a toppled Confederate statue on Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, in Durham, N.C. Activists on Monday evening used a rope to pull down the monument outside a Durham courthouse. The Durham protest was in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Va, over the weekend. Authorities say one woman was killed Saturday after one of the white nationalists drove his car into a group of counterprotesters.

(Jonathan Drew/AP)

A toppled Confederate statue lies on the ground on Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, in Durham, N.C. Activists on Monday evening used a rope to pull down the monument outside a Durham courthouse. The Durham protest was in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Va, over the weekend. Authorities say one woman was killed Saturday after one of the white nationalists drove his car into a group of counterprotesters.

(Jonathan Drew/AP)

Isaiah Wallace plays his guitar standing on the base that formerly supported a Confederate soldier statue after a group of protesters pulled it down during a rally Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, in Durham, N.C. Protesters toppled the nearly century-old statue of a Confederate soldier Monday at the rally against racism. The Durham protest was in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.

(Casey Toth/The Herald-Sun via AP)

The Confederate Soldiers Monument, dedicated in 1924, stood in front of an old courthouse building that serves as local government offices.

County officials didn't immediately return messages asking whether they planned to put the statue back up.

The leader of the local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Doug Nash, said Tuesday he's disappointed by the toppling of the statue as well as other recent violence.

"The only thing I'd like to say is that I'm very saddened by all this mess that's going on," Nash said by phone.

Although the violence in Virginia has prompted fresh talk by government officials about bringing down symbols of the Confederacy around the South, North Carolina has a law protecting them. The 2015 law prevents removing such monuments on public property without permission from state officials.

In response to the statue in Durham being torn down, Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted: "The racism and deadly violence in Charlottesville is unacceptable but there is a better way to remove these monuments."

The racism and deadly violence in Charlottesville is unacceptable but there is a better way to remove these monuments #durham - RC

On Monday night, Isaiah Wallace said he watched as others brought the Durham statue down.

"I was a little bit shocked people could come here and come together like that," said Wallace, who is black.

Wallace hopes other Confederate symbols elsewhere will follow.

"I feel like this is going to send shockwaves through the country and hopefully they can bring down other racist symbols," he said.

Jonathan Drew, The Associated Press

Protesters block an intersection during a rally Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, in Durham, N.C. Protesters toppled ae nearly century-old statue of a Confederate soldier Monday at the rally against racism. The Durham protest was in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.

(Casey Toth/The Herald-Sun via AP)

Pierre Faulkner, left, protests at the old Durham County Courthouse Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, in Durham, N.C. Protesters toppled a nearly century-old statue of a Confederate soldier Monday at the rally against racism.

(Casey Toth/The Herald-Sun via AP)

Protesters make their way to the site of the new police headquarters, still under construction after toppling a Confederate soldier statue during a rally Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, in Durham, N.C. The Durham protest was in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.